FRANCE to Cap Cash Transactions at €1,000

So Ayrault trotted out his national plan, a 20-page document that outlined his all-out effort to go after any kind of behavior that could possibly deprive the government of those sorely needed euros. A seamless fit for France’s principle: squeeze hapless “fiscal residents” like lemons to get their last drop of juice—fiscal residents, because citizens or foreigners who live in France only part of the year and pay taxes in some other country escape income taxes in France.

Stuffed into that 20-page national plan is a draconian tool: prohibiting

cash payments of over €1,000 per purchase.
The current threshold is €3,000.

It’s urgent. He wants to get the process started soon so that “a decree and legislative measures” can be finished by the end of 2013.

Two crisp 500-euro bills and a single coin: voilà, an illegal transaction.

OK, most cash transactions fall below that limit. But used cars, for example, might not. Between individuals, a cash transaction protects the seller. Otherwise, a trustworthy girl buys your car, signs the documents, hands you a check or initiates an electronic payment, and drives off. By the time you realize that the check bounced or that the electronic transfer didn’t go through, the car is on its way to Russia.

You want title to my rig? Stack the Benjamins.

Last edited by presence; 02-16-2013 at 06:58 AM.

'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988